Bard Ventralex Lawsuit Filed Over Hernia Mesh Design Defects

Design problems with Bard Ventralex ST hernia mesh allegedly caused a Louisiana man to suffer a recurrent hernia and other complications, which resulted in need for revision surgery, according to a product liability lawsuit recently filed against C.R. Bard and it’s Davol, Inc. subsidiary.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Richard Stipelcovich in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on September 29, indicating that Bard Ventralex has numerous defects that may cause the material in the hernia mesh to abrade tissue and fail to repair hernias, causing painful and permanent consequences for patients.

Stipelcovich received a Bard Ventralex ST hernia mesh in October 2016, for treatment of an incarcerated umbilical hernia. However, after suffering “excruciating” abdominal pain, he underwent revision surgery in April 2017, due to the hernia’s return.

Failure of the Bard Ventralex mesh is blamed for the recurring hernia and permanent physical injuries suffered by Stipelcovich.

“Before Plaintiff suffered the injuries complained of herein, Defendants were on notice of numerous bodily injuries caused by [Bard Ventralex], and based thereon, Defendants knew or should have known that the Product caused an unreasonably high rate of infection, extrusion, perforation, chronic pain and/or abscess in people implanted with the Product,” according to the complaint, which indicates that Stipelcovich and his doctor never would have used Bard Ventralex hernia mesh if information and warnings had been properly disclosed.

Hernia Mesh Lawsuits

Stipelcovich’s complaint is the latest in a growing number of hernia mesh lawsuits filed in recent months against manufacturers of various different products, which have been linked to reports of similar problems since they were introduced.

In addition to a small number of other Bard Ventralex hernia lawsuits, most of the cases filed have involved the Atrium C-Qur patch or Ethicon Physiomesh, which was recalled last year.

Pronounced “Secure”, Atrium C-Qur mesh was approved by the FDA on March 2006, for use in hernia repair, chest wall reconstruction and to repair traumatic or surgical wounds. The patch is made of a polypropylene mesh, with an outer coating of gel made from 3 fatty acids, which plaintiffs allege caused severe infections, allergic reactions and other complications after Atrium C-Qur hernia repair.

The Ethicon Physiomesh patch was recalled from the market in May 2016, amid a high number of complications, after the manufacturer failed to identify the cause of the problems. While the action taken in the United States was classified as a “market withdrawal”, Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon subsidiary has indicated that it has no intentions of returning the product to the market and asked hospitals to return the product.

As a growing number of Atrium C-Qur lawsuits and Ethicon Physiomesh lawsuits continue to be filed throughout the federal court system, it is expected that small groups of cases will eventually be prepared for early trial dates, which are designed to help the parties gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony that may be repeated throughout the litigation, and potentially help facilitate hernia mesh settlements with the manufacturers.